Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad
Darkness causes either blindness (if you have normal vision) or dim light (if you have darkvision).
Blindness causes automatic failure on any ability check depending on sight, disadvantage on your attacks, and advantage on any attacks against you.
Dim light is classified as Light Obscurity, so creatures with darkvision have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to see a person/creature in darkness (dim light: which is what darkness is to someone with darkvision).
The Darkness spell is a 15 foot radius sphere from a spot, or from an object you cast it on. It lasts for up to 10 minutes (concentration). Even creatures with darkvision cannot see in magical darkness, and are effectively blind in it or trying to see into it. If cast on an object you can move it by moving the object, and you can block the darkness by completely covering the object. It's a second level spell for many spell-casting classes, and Drow who are 5th level can also cast it once a day.
Warlocks can get two invocations that are relevant to this discussion:
1) Devil's Sight: You can see normally in ordinary and also magical darkness, to a range of 120 feet.
2) One with the Shadows (5th level req): When in dim light or darkness, you can use an action to become invisible until you move or take an action or reaction.
They can also cast Darkness as a second level spell, starting at 3rd level.
There is at least one feat that's relevant as well to this discussion:
Skulker (req Dex 13): You can hide in lightly obscured areas; When hidden, missing with a ranged attack doesn't reveal your position; dim light doesn't impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks that depend on sight.
Effect of attacking or being attacked when you're unseen:
Attacking a target you cannot see imposes disadvantage on your attack. If you also do not know where that target is (because for example you cannot hear them either, or they are hidden and have not made an attack that gave away their position) you have to guess their location, and a wrong guess is an automatic miss.
Attacking a target that cannot see you grants you advantage on your attacks. Once you attack in this way, you give away your location (though the target may still be unable to see you).
Fun With Darkness:
First up, the combination of that Warlock Devil's Sight ability and the Darkness spell is pretty darn powerful. You can see out of it as if it were bright as day, but everybody else is unable to see you at all (and blind when in it). So all your attacks will be at advantage, and all attacks against you will be at disadvantage.
You could also hide in it, which would cause creatures to guess at your location (this might work well with the Rogue's Cunning Action, which allows a hide check as a bonus action).
Seems like a Warlock 3/Rogue 2 is the start to a powerful combination.
In ordinary darkness, the Skulker feat is pretty sweet. You can hide in dim light from creatures with normal vision, and in darkness from creatures with darkvision. A rogue with cunning action could make a ranged attack from hiding (advantage), take a step into another area of darkness, and hide again as a bonus action. Attacks against the rogue would be at disadvantage (if you can even figure out where to attack), and the rogues attacks the next round would again start with advantage. This of course assumes the rogue can see their target as well - if the target is in dim light they can perceive them normally (Skulker feat) but if the target is in darkness the rogue will need darkvision (but can see normally into that darkness with darkvision, without the normal disadvantage to perception checks, thanks to the Skulker feat).
What other combinations and tactics can people come up with using darkness, or what flaws do people see in the ones I've mentioned? Seems like a Warlock 3/Rogue 2 is the start to a powerful combination
Blindness causes automatic failure on any ability check depending on sight, disadvantage on your attacks, and advantage on any attacks against you.
Dim light is classified as Light Obscurity, so creatures with darkvision have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to see a person/creature in darkness (dim light: which is what darkness is to someone with darkvision).
The Darkness spell is a 15 foot radius sphere from a spot, or from an object you cast it on. It lasts for up to 10 minutes (concentration). Even creatures with darkvision cannot see in magical darkness, and are effectively blind in it or trying to see into it. If cast on an object you can move it by moving the object, and you can block the darkness by completely covering the object. It's a second level spell for many spell-casting classes, and Drow who are 5th level can also cast it once a day.
Warlocks can get two invocations that are relevant to this discussion:
1) Devil's Sight: You can see normally in ordinary and also magical darkness, to a range of 120 feet.
2) One with the Shadows (5th level req): When in dim light or darkness, you can use an action to become invisible until you move or take an action or reaction.
They can also cast Darkness as a second level spell, starting at 3rd level.
There is at least one feat that's relevant as well to this discussion:
Skulker (req Dex 13): You can hide in lightly obscured areas; When hidden, missing with a ranged attack doesn't reveal your position; dim light doesn't impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks that depend on sight.
Effect of attacking or being attacked when you're unseen:
Attacking a target you cannot see imposes disadvantage on your attack. If you also do not know where that target is (because for example you cannot hear them either, or they are hidden and have not made an attack that gave away their position) you have to guess their location, and a wrong guess is an automatic miss.
Attacking a target that cannot see you grants you advantage on your attacks. Once you attack in this way, you give away your location (though the target may still be unable to see you).
Fun With Darkness:
First up, the combination of that Warlock Devil's Sight ability and the Darkness spell is pretty darn powerful. You can see out of it as if it were bright as day, but everybody else is unable to see you at all (and blind when in it). So all your attacks will be at advantage, and all attacks against you will be at disadvantage.
You could also hide in it, which would cause creatures to guess at your location (this might work well with the Rogue's Cunning Action, which allows a hide check as a bonus action).
Seems like a Warlock 3/Rogue 2 is the start to a powerful combination.
In ordinary darkness, the Skulker feat is pretty sweet. You can hide in dim light from creatures with normal vision, and in darkness from creatures with darkvision. A rogue with cunning action could make a ranged attack from hiding (advantage), take a step into another area of darkness, and hide again as a bonus action. Attacks against the rogue would be at disadvantage (if you can even figure out where to attack), and the rogues attacks the next round would again start with advantage. This of course assumes the rogue can see their target as well - if the target is in dim light they can perceive them normally (Skulker feat) but if the target is in darkness the rogue will need darkvision (but can see normally into that darkness with darkvision, without the normal disadvantage to perception checks, thanks to the Skulker feat).
What other combinations and tactics can people come up with using darkness, or what flaws do people see in the ones I've mentioned? Seems like a Warlock 3/Rogue 2 is the start to a powerful combination
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